Thursday, July 17, 2014

Morning Meeting for the Smart Board

One of my favorite parts of the day is MORNING MEETING!

It's a great daily routine for the students and well as for me. It's an essential way to build a sense of classroom community and belonging. Morning meeting may look very different in each classroom. Some teachers use it primarily for socio-emotional development while others use it for a focus on academic skills and some use it for a little of both. Some morning meeting range from 3 minutes to 30 minutes. It all depends on what your purpose and objectives are and what grade level you teach.

There are some great books to read to get you started or to jump-start your creativity if you're getting stale. Here are a few recommendations:

This one also come in another book for grade 3-6.

Lots of great ideas!

My morning meeting went through a huge change when I got my Smart Board. My kiddos are much more engaged and excited about Morning Meeting. I've had several request to explain how I use my Smart Board for Morning Meeting. So here goes.

I have 2 'Happy Helpers' whose job it is to conduct Morning Meeting. We start off with the pledge every morning and the Star Spangled Banner on Mondays. Then we move on to calendar.

I have the kids write the numbers on the calendar, then track the weather, plus find yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We also note birthdays and holidays.
We keep track of 'How Many Days' we've been in school on a chart making a pattern as we go.
Then it's time for any business that needs to be discussed. We'll talk about our schedule, celebrations, or goals we need to work on.
Next comes spelling or wordwork review. We have several different activities that I rotate through so the kids don't get bored.

Then we go on to Math review.

I like to link videos and songs right on the page so I remember to play them.

It's a great time of me to do some observations and see who is really getting it, who really has it, who doesn't get it, and who is forgetting it.

I've been working on a packet most of the summer and I finally got it finished.

There are blank calendars for each month of the year and activities for spelling, language arts, and math. Also included are the charts for 'How Many Days in School, Star Spangled Banner, Pledge, Months, and Days of the Week. The spelling activities are editable so you can program YOUR words into the slides. Plus lots of fun math review slides as pictured above.
So if you have a SMART BOARD you might want to check this out. It is on sale until Saturday 7/19/14.

Well that about covers it in a nutshell. Morning Meeting is a vital part of my day. Even before my days without a Smart Board I would use my document camera to project charts and activities. I had laminated charts on my calendar that we would discuss, we'd play games and sing songs. The Smart Board just is a great way to organize it all and have all my resources together. No matter what tools you have, Morning Meeting can still be a powerful part of the day.